MACC opens probe into elephants’ transfer to Japan zoo

Dara, Amoi, and Kelat were relocated to Tennoji Zoo in Osaka, Japan, as part of a conservation and research programme. (MPT pic)

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has opened an investigation paper on the transfer of elephants Dara, Amoi, and Kelat from Taiping Zoo to Tennoji Zoo in Osaka, Japan.

“The investigation is focused on the national resources and environmental sustainability ministry, the wildlife and national parks department, and the agents involved in the elephants’ transfer,” the anti-graft agency said in a statement today.

MACC said the probe followed calls by NGO Hak Asasi Hidupan Liar Malaysia on June 18 for an investigation of the transfer. The group claimed that several payments in the matter had not reached the government as intended, and linked several people with transactions worth around RM53 million.

“MACC is investigating allegations of leakage and looking into the possibility of bribery, misappropriation, or abuse of power,” it said.

The agency also urged the public not to speculate on the matter to avoid jeopardising investigations, which are still at an early stage.

Dara, Amoi, and Kelat were relocated to Tennoji Zoo as part of a conservation and research programme.

Last Thursday, another environmental NGO, Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia, claimed that about RM50 million was paid to several people rather than the government for the transfer of the three elephants to Japan, and urged graft-busters to investigate.

The NGO’s president Rajesh Nagarajan said the group was tipped off by a purported whistleblower and gave MACC a list of eight people to be investigated.

He also claimed that the transferred elephants were captured from the wild, not raised in captivity, and asked how the transfer was approved.